Bug zapper recommendations

I've been researching the Flowtron BK-80D which seems to receive at least as good of reviews of any units, and for around $35 from Amazon would be worth buying. Has anyone here used that one, or have experience with any similar ones?

Our lot is basically a jungle - we have a small culvert on one side, which although not constantly wet I presume is probably the main source of our mosquito problem. We also have many trees of different varieties(hell, I don't even know what some of them are) lots of bamboo, and other hedge-like things...you can really tell I'm a gardener.

Anyway, the little blood-suckers are a major problem all the time, and downright vicious in the evening. I can't venture into the rear/side of our yard(nearest the culvert/vegetation) without being eaten alive - and that's after freshly drenching myself in Deep Woods Off. Terminix can do a monthly spray for $45 that supposedly works, but I'd like to try cheaper solutions first if they show any promise. I specifically want something that's weatherproof, so I can place one or two out in the yard and let them do their thing 24-7(for now anyway, I might put them on a timer if the situation improves).

Any advice from the hive?

Move out of the swamp?

Can you decrease the amount of standing water in that culvert?

I do pest control for a living not for terminx, but we also offer a monthly spraying service and my customers say it works great. It works by spraying the resting areas since mosquitos are not strong flyers they have to rest Before and after they have a blood meal. If you get a sprayer and concentrate you could diy.

Oh yes they make mosquito dunks you can throw in any standing water to cut down the breeding

I highly recommend this for inside the house: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I0G0JXE/

I have 2 of them, one for upstairs, one for downstairs. I live in the woods. I undo one of the bulbs, as a single bulb is plenty to attract the little suckers.

Enyar wrote: Move out of the swamp? Can you decrease the amount of standing water in that culvert?

There's rarely standing water for more than a day or 2 after a heavy rain. For example, we had a monsoon Sunday morning, and by yesterday afternoon it was completely dry. It's city property, and they do maintain it, but it's still an open culvert.

In reply to nepa03focus:

I have a couple sprayers, what are the correct/best chemicals to spray? Where are the best areas? According to the Terminix sales guy, they just spray a few patches around the yard? I talked to another pest company earlier in the year & they were discussing spraying under our shed, gazebo, and under the leaves of all the vegetation around the yard.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

Fortunately we don't have any problem with mosquitos indoors, but we rarely have more than 1 or 2 lights on indoors, none outdoors, and the windows are almost always closed.

petegossett wrote: In reply to nepa03focus: I have a couple sprayers, what are the correct/best chemicals to spray? Where are the best areas? According to the Terminix sales guy, they just spray a few patches around the yard? I talked to another pest company earlier in the year & they were discussing spraying under our shed, gazebo, and under the leaves of all the vegetation around the yard. In reply to Dr. Hess: Fortunately we don't have *any* problem with mosquitos indoors, but we rarely have more than 1 or 2 lights on indoors, none outdoors, and the windows are almost always closed.

I would suggest talstar p or suspend polyzone. You want to use a fine fan spray on all the shrubs, hedges, mulch beds, low trees, under porches if you have any up off the ground. It's actually better if you can get the small shrubs and ornamental from the bottom and kind of spray up into them. Don't spray near any edible fruits, veggies, or herbs or any ponds or bodies of water.

Toss one of those Ring shaped dunks in to the culvert once a week will cut them down in no time. dunks

Permethrin is a good spray and will work on Ticks as well but all other insects too so I try not to use it much, we do need them on the earth. My parents property was over run by ticks 3-4 years ago. Do My Own helped me get it under control.

Check out DoMyOwnPestControl

This thread is pertinent to my interests... I've got a new patio that is practically unusable because of the blood suckers unless it's really windy or I build a smokey fire. Neither of which make for a lovely evening on the patio.

Do these things really work? The reviews would indicate they do... sort of but it's a lot of ching to end up as a 1 star guy Link to propane skeeter traps like this one

Even if it doesn't solve your problem. The crackle of a flying biter sizzling on the blue bug zapper is a mighty sweet sound. Especially when drinking beer.

*semi related, my BIL bought one of those HF tennis racquet style zappers that he uses to take out his stresses on the carpenter bees that are eating his barn. Good fun!

In reply to KyAllroad:

As a kid, I used to stand in one of the entrances to my folks' old wood barn with an aluminum bat, or piece of pipe and swat those critters out of the air. You'd think I'd be better at baseball/softball than I am.

One day I discovered that the 12% protein pellets we fed the livestock were roughly the same size as a .177 caliber air rifle pellet, and exited the barrel in a pattern similar to a shotgun. From that moment on, I used cattle feed based, anti air flak for bee control.

Does a bug zapper even attract mosquitoes?

STOP STOP YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!

Light-based bug zappers do nothing for mosquitoes! They kill bugs that are attracted to light, that is, mostly moths (BTW, moths fly into lights because they've evolved to expect the only light source in nature to be the sun (or moon, as a reflected source ), and they use it for navigation. So they'll orbit into any other light source, including a fire).

To kill mosquitoes you want to use a gas-based or scent-based bug zapper. There are bug zappers that emit CO2 which kill mosquitoes. A couple years back, an African guy invented one that you put dirty socks in, and it worked wonderfully.

A "zapping racquet" is an efficient way to kill nearby mosquitoes en masse BTW.

KyAllroad wrote: Even if it doesn't solve your problem. The crackle of a flying biter sizzling on the blue bug zapper is a mighty sweet sound. Especially when drinking beer. *semi related, my BIL bought one of those HF tennis racquet style zappers that he uses to take out his stresses on the carpenter bees that are eating his barn. Good fun!

I put my tongue to one of those racquets on a dare. I do not recommend this.

bigdaddylee82 wrote: In reply to KyAllroad: One day I discovered that the 12% protein pellets we fed the livestock were roughly the same size as a .177 caliber air rifle pellet, and exited the barrel in a pattern similar to a shotgun. From that moment on, I used cattle feed based, anti air flak for bee control.

That might be the best thing ever!

In reply to Huckleberry: Why does that not surprise me even a little bit?

Zapped myself on the knee with one of those racquets before. Also would not recommend it (unless you want to know what a pain-orgasm feels like).

nepa03focus wrote:

petegossett wrote: In reply to nepa03focus: I have a couple sprayers, what are the correct/best chemicals to spray? Where are the best areas? According to the Terminix sales guy, they just spray a few patches around the yard? I talked to another pest company earlier in the year & they were discussing spraying under our shed, gazebo, and under the leaves of all the vegetation around the yard. In reply to Dr. Hess: Fortunately we don't have *any* problem with mosquitos indoors, but we rarely have more than 1 or 2 lights on indoors, none outdoors, and the windows are almost always closed.

I would suggest talstar p or suspend polyzone. You want to use a fine fan spray on all the shrubs, hedges, mulch beds, low trees, under porches if you have any up off the ground. It's actually better if you can get the small shrubs and ornamental from the bottom and kind of spray up into them. Don't spray near any edible fruits, veggies, or herbs or any ponds or bodies of water.

I finally got off my ass and ordered some Talstar P a couple weeks ago, then last week I mixed up 2-gallons and sprayed all our vegetation and underneath our outbuildings. The results were damn near instantaneous. Seriously, there were parts in the back of our yard I couldn't walk into without getting eaten alive. The next day after spraying I had no problems back there whatsoever.

I figured this stuff would help - I had no expectation it would be so thorough and quick.

A little oil on any standing water will suffocate mosquito larva .

May not be environmentally friendly today.

In reply to petegossett :

Here it is, the [best canoe zapper] I know.

In reply to Kevin Smith :

I didn't know you gave bug zapper recommendations! Congrats on the weight loss.